Together
by Athel11
Summary: Levy finds two little orphans living by themselves in a tiny shack. She sees her younger self in them and tries to help, but things are not always that easy. What would happen when a dark cult gets involved? Could Levy still save the kids with Gajeel's help? Mostly Gajevy but other ships will appear. Multi-chapter. Rated T (language and future scenes). Cover image by Rboz.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello! this is my first fanfic ever and English is not my native language, so please be patient with me! Also, if you see any mistake (grammar, syntax, vocabulary or spelling) please comment on it, I would like to improve! Don't be shy and post your opinion ^^ _

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**I do not own Fairy Tail, this is just based on the original story of Hiro Mashima. **

**I hope you like the story, it will be multi-chapter and I will try to update it as frequent as possible.  
The story would be mainly Gajevy but there would appear other ships too. **

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Levy was still a bit upset. The bookshop where she was a frequent had just sold the book she had reserved a week ago before going on a mission with Shadow Gear. She saw the book by chance while walking down to the train station and without thinking it twice she hurried into the bookshop to buy it. But, to her surprise, the book was way more expensive than what she had expected, and she had to ask the shop assistant to please set it aside for her, just for a week. They obliged without complain, after all she was one of their best customers. What was her surprise, when a week later, they had sold her precious book. As Levy was not one of those people who liked to complain and make a big deal, she just accepted their apologies and went back to the guild feeling down.

She had walked no more than two streets when she saw a little girl, no more than 3 years old, hiding in a corner. The girl was poorly dressed considering that it was almost winter and the wind was merciless. She had neither shoes or a jacket on her. Her hair was black and unkempt, and it went no longer than her shoulders. Levy became curious as to why such a young kid was there alone. Without noticing, her feet started to move towards where the little girl was. Levy saw how the child was looking attentively at a grocery store a couple of houses ahead. She followed her line of vision and spotted another kid, with the same black and messy hair but shorter, a little older than the girl, around 8, who was sneaking behind a big barrel full of apples. She instantly knew the kid's intention, he was trying to get food. Levy knew all too well that starving sensation which pushed oneself to stole food in order to survive, she herself had suffered it before joining Fairy Tail. Levy was lost in her old memories, sad memories, when a yell startled her. The owner of the grocery shop had caught the boy red-handed. He had the poor kid hanging from his wrist, in his hand still the apple that he had tried to steal. The boy started to squirm to set himself free, and to her horror, Levy saw how the owner, a big man, began to rise his free hand, his intention was pretty clear, he was going to hit the kid. Levy rushed the few meters that were left between herself and the shop.

"Hey, sorry, but could you unhand that boy?" Levy said almost shouting at the corpulent man in front of her. She was usually very quiet and shy but seeing as he was about to hit the boy, she couldn't help herself, she felt anger rushing through her veins.

"He was stealing my apples, I have caught him twice already. He needs to know what happens when you steal from other people," as he said that, he smacked the kid. The little boy stopped struggling, his right cheek reddening by the moment and tears forming in his eyes. Levy let out a yelp.

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO HIT HIM!" she shouted while the man unhanded the kid, the latter falling to his knees.

Levy got down and looked at the boy. He was trying his best not to cry, but when he saw the concern in her eyes, he couldn't help the sob that escaped his lips. She caressed his forehead and pushed his hair away of his face softly while she smiled at him, trying to provide some comfort, then she offered him her hand to help him get up. The boy took it shyly and got on his feet while holding his cheek with his other hand.

"Get that rat away from my shop, now he knows what happens when you steal from me," the big owner crossed his arms on top of his chest with a tsk. Levy looked at him, right in the eye, and even if she was quite a petite woman, she was not a coward, so she answered him with her most despiteful tone.

"Don't worry, I will make sure neither him or anyone in Fairy Tail get near to your shop ever again," with that she looked down again to the little boy and not letting his hand go, she began to walk in the direction in which she knew her sister, or so she assumed, was still hiding.

The boy walked by her side, in complete silence, but once he saw her sister's face peeking from the corner, with tears in her eyes, he rushed to her leaving Levy a few steps behind.

"Shhh, don't cry, it was nothing, I'm okay, see? you don't have to cry, I'm here," he was trying to calm her down while having her tightly hugged in his tiny arms. Levy's heart broke at that same moment.

"He hit you... _sob_... he hit you in your face... _sob_ _sob_..." she was crying in his shoulder, grabbing his shirt as if he was going to disappear if she let go.

Levy approached them quietly and got to her knees to talk to the kids with her face at the same level as theirs.

"Hello, my name is Levy," she said softly, trying to sound as calm as possible not to scare them, "what are your names?"

"My name is Mark," the boy said timidly, "and she is my sister, Sophie," he kept looking at Levy and after a few seconds of silence he said, "thank you," and smiled to her.

"You don't need to thank me," Levy said gently. "Are you two alone? Where are your parents?" she knew the answer, but she needed to make sure.

"We don't have parents anymore, our mother passed away two months ago."

"And where are you living? It is very cold outside, more in the night," she looked at them concerned.

"Come, I will show you," the boy said getting up and leading her sister while holding hands. He took a few steps and then, as if he were thinking deeper, he stopped and said, "but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, it is a secret."

Levy nodded and followed the kids. After a few minutes walking towards the south of Magnolia, they reached what seemed like an abandon cabin at the border of the forest. She went with them inside of the shack. It was dark and dusty, she could also see a few holes in the wooden floor. In one of the corners there was a little makeshift bed where she assumed they were sleeping.

"We are living here, it is not as bad as you think," the boy said after seeing Levy's face. "We are lucky to have this, it is warm, and we can sleep comfortably. We do not need anything else." As he said this, he hugged her little sister who had stopped crying and was smiling at him as if he were her whole world.

Levy's voice chocked in her throat. She could see how much they cared for each other, even at such a young age, and felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She needed to do something, she was sure that they would be welcomed at Fairy Tail as she had been when she had been an orphan back in the past. But, she needed to convince them first, so she tried to pick her words.

"You know what? I was like you, I had no parents, but one day I found a place where I was accepted and taken care of. I am from Fairy Tail guild, do you know what it is?" both kids nodded with happy faces, they knew Fairy Tail, of course they knew, her mother always brought them to the festival they celebrated each year, it was one of the best events in Magnolia. "Ok, well, they would be happy to have you both too, if you want to live there, that is," Levy watched them expectantly, analysing their response. "If you want to, we can just go to my guild and I will speak to master Makarov, I'm sure there will be no problem at all, would you like that?"

"YES!" both kids responded with shining smiles. But then, Mark's smile washed off and he said almost in a whisper, "we were told to never trust strangers, they could be bad people..." his eyes were fixed on his hands.

"That is a wise thing to do, you cannot trust just anyone, and I can't say anything in order to make you trust me either, but I promise you that I will never hurt any of you," She smiled at them, as kindly as possible, she knew that it was risky for them, but they needed to believe her words, they would be much better living in the guild than living in a tiny shack by themselves.

"Mark, I like Levy, I want to go to Fairy Tail..." Sophie said to her brother whispering, but still audible for Levy.

"Ok, but don't leave my side," the little boy then looked up to Levy and nodded with a bit more confidence.

"All right let's get going, if we go now we can still make it to eat something for lunch."

Levy stood up on her feet and smiled at them happily, offering her hand. Sophie took it and they walked to the door. But, as they made their way to it, a loud crash was heard just outside of the house. She looked down at the kids, Mark was already in front of Sophie, as if shielding her. Levy felt a shiver down her spine.

"Does anyone else live here?" she said quietly.

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**This is the first chapter! what do you think? you want me to go on with the story? has it been boring? **

**It is just an introductory chapter but I hope you liked it. I will try to upload the next one today or at the latest by tomorrow.**

**Please, post any advice, comment or opinion you have, I would be really grateful.**

**Edit: I have changed the direct speeches into the English convention (I think xD) because I was writing them as I would in my mother tongue, sorry! **


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello again! As I promised here we go with__ the second chapter, I hope you enjoy it, I have tried to add a little bit of "gajevy interaction" but as the story is just in its beginning it is not much, I promise that it will lead in that direction in the following chapters.  
Also, thank you so so much to __**finch6** and to **Ushindeshi **__for their reviews! you have given me the push to end this chapter today! *^* _

_Please, enjoy it and comment anything you think about it! Thank you all for reading!  
_

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**I do not own Fairy Tail, this is just based on the original story of Hiro Mashima.**

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"Aww, man, I'm so beat. This last mission was trickier than I thought. I really can't tell how we did it in the end, they were more than fifty and we were two. That region really should think about renewing their military forces..." Lily said with a huff. He was sitting on Gajeel's shoulder, in his tiny form, covered in bandages.

"Yeah, those shitty soldiers were useless as fuck, but they were lucky to have us there, I could have beat a hundred more of those weaklings," Gajeel said with a smirk, remembering how he almost rampaged over most of the mercenaries.

"Yer lucky to have me, Lily," the exceed glared at him while Gajeel simply gave him a cocky smile, remembering proudly how he saved an exhausted Lily from being outnumbered 4-to-1 in the middle of the battlefield. Lily's frown softened, he had to admit that Gajeel had saved his ass back there.

"That's true, thank you, Gajeel," the Iron Dragon did not expect his cat to say that and a little blush covered his cheeks. Lily giggled as he saw it.

"Nah, ya would have done the same, Lil."

They kept walking towards the guild, in silence, enjoying the peace and the refreshing air which surrounded the south forest of Magnolia. Both of them were really yearning for a nice hot shower and a long night of sleep. And, even if the Iron Dragon would have never admitted it, he was eager to see the tiny blue-haired fairy. What was his surprise when he caught her scent in the air. He sniffed around and then he noticed something else, a sweet and metallic fragrance mixed with Levy's. Gajeel automatically focused, trying to discern the source.

"Gajeel, that cabin," said Lily pointing to the small shack, "hurry... I can smell blood..."

Gajeel run to it as fast as he could. Pushing the cracked door wide open, they rushed inside. The first thing they saw was Levy's body lying on the floor in the middle of the cabin. She was bleeding profusely through a deep cut in her leg, but that was not her only wound. Her dress was almost teared apart, and some cuts could be seen covering her tiny body, she had been beaten and some bruises were forming on her pale skin.

"LEVY!" as they rushed to her, they saw a little girl cowered by her side, crying while holding her face in her hands.

"Levy... _sob, sob_, Levy..." the little girl looked at them, pure terror in her eyes.

"Who are you?! What has happened to Levy?!" Gajeel roared, without thinking that the person to whom he was speaking was only a little kid. The child's eyes widened in fear. She hugged Levy's face in her tiny arms and started to cry louder.

"We need to get her to Wendy, Gajeel, but first we need to stop the bleeding," Gajeel took his own belt and fastened it above Levy's deepest cut. Then he tried to take her in his arms, but the girl did not let go her grip on Levy.

He glared at the girl but when he saw her eyes full of fear, tears going down her cheeks, he knew that the child was just trying to protect Levy even if she was terrified of them.

"Listen, kid, we need to help her," he took the little girl with his hands and got her to Lily, then he took Levy from the floor and they rushed as fast as they could towards the guild.

"Don't cry, we are Levy's friends, we will not hurt you," Lily said smiling down to the girl in his arms, flying fast.

"They hurt us, they got my brother, they got him… _sob_…" Lily frowned. So, something had happened, someone had attacked the kids and as he knew Levy, she surely had tried to defend them.

"Don't worry, we will get him back, I promise," Lily was trying to calm the little girl, she was trembling hard.

Gajeel was just focused on reaching the guild, he could not lose her, he couldn't live without her even if he never were to admit it. She had become his light, the reason why he was trying hard to redeem his past deeds. He wanted to be better, better for her, someone who deserved to be by her side even if it was just as a friend.

"Please, hang in, we are almost there… come on, Levy, you can do it…" he whispered without losing his attention on her weak breathing.

"Ga...jee…" he looked down, startled by Levy's voice. Levy's eyes were barely open, but they were looking at him, "I'm… glad…"

"Shhh, we are almost there, Wendy will heal you in no time, resist," he run at top speed the few meters left to reach the big doors of the guild.

"WENDY! WE NEED HELP, FAST!"

Gajeel went in, everyone in the guild who were there laughing and eating at the moment became silent. All eyes fixed on the four who had just entered. Wendy and Mira came running to them.

"What happened?!" asked the blonde bartender.

"We don't know, we just found her like that, she is bleeding a lot, help her," Lily's voice was full of worry, he couldn't stand the view of the tiny mage battered like that.

"Levy! Levy, listen to me, you need to breath, oi, LEVY!" Gajeel's voice was trembling, something completely unusual in the Iron Dragon.

"Come on, lay her here, hurry," Wendy rushed them to one of the bed from the infirmary. As soon as she was besides Levy, she put her hands on her and she began using her power.

Lisanna, Juvia and Gray came running into the infirmary, worry in their eyes as they saw the state in which Levy was.  
Everyone was focused on Levy and Wendy and it was not until a quiet sob was heard that most of them noticed the presence of Sophie. She was on her feet at the end of Levy's bed. Silent tears down her cheeks.

"Who is this little girl?" said Mira while she got on her knees to look at her.

"I don't know, we found that kid grabbing Levy for dear life. We couldn't leave her there alone, so Lily carried her h're."

"Hello," said Mira to Sophie opening her arms to pick her up. "What is your name, honey?" the girl hugged Mira tightly.

"I'm Sophie, and my brother is Mark, but he is not here, he was taken by those bad men…" she began to cry again, her head pushed onto Mira's shoulder. "Is Levy ok? She was hurt trying to stop them, she told me to hide, I couldn't save my brother, I… I'm scared..._sob, sob_, mommy…" Sophie's quiet sobs could be hear in the silent room. Everyone was with their eyes on the tiny kid.

"She will be ok, don't worry," Wendy's voice replied and Gajeel left out a breath that he did not even noticed that he was holding.

"Where is your mommy, Sophie?" asked Lisanna.

"She is not here anymore, Mark is here with me, but he was taken, _hic_" everyone looked at her, understanding filled the room.

"Don't worry, girl, I have promised that we will get him back, right?" Lily said smiling kindly at her.

"Yes... t-thank you, kitty," even with her face still wet, she smiled brightly at the exceed.

"Ga...j-jeel…" Levy's weak voice startled everyone, "S-Sophie, Mark, you need to protect them, you need...you… to the guild… get them to the guild…"

"Shh, we are at the guild, Wendy is healing ya, don't speak," Gajeel needed all of his self-restraint not to rush to her side and take her hand.

"She needs to sleep, she needs to rest for a bit, so she could restore the energy she wasted in the healing process. I will bandage the wounds which have yet to heal, please go outside and let her sleep at least for an hour," Wendy said softly, her hands still infusing magic power into Levy's body.

"Ok, let's get you something to eat, Sophie, and we will wait for Levy in the hall, alright?" Mira talked to the girl, trying to sound as gentle as possible not to scare the little child.

Everyone started to walk out slowly, the last to exit the room was Gajeel, who looked back at Levy, his eyes not leaving her face.

"Don't worry, Gajeel, she will be fine, I promise," Wendy smiled at Gajeel, knowing how worried he was over the bluenette.

"Thank ya, kid."

Gajeel approached the counter of the guild's bar, where Mira had sat the little girl. He wanted to ask her what had happened, but he knew that kids were not his thing, so he just planted himself in front of the child and watched her intently. Sophie's eyes were wide, green hues staring at him.

"Gajeel, Juvia thinks that if you look at her like that you are going to scare the poor thing," she whispered in his ear.

"Hey, shorty, tell what happened in that crappy cabin right away," Juvia rolled her eyes back. She knew that Gajeel lacked tact, but this was something else. To her surprise, Sophie began to speak quietly, never leaving Gajeel eyes, and told them what she remembered, as she was still too young, they all tried to listen attentively, trying to get the most from what she was saying.

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**Second chapter complete! what do you think? something you like or don't like? **

**The story is still being developed so I hope it is not too boring. I will try to upload the next chapter tomorrow night or friday at the latest, I'm a bit busy with university but I'm also very hyped writing my very first fic about my favourite couple.**

**Please, post any advice, comment or opinion you have, I would be really grateful.**

**Edit: As in chapter 1, I have revised all direct speeches to change them into the English convention, sorry, I'm not used to write anything that is not an essay D:**


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi again! Here we go with chapter 3, this time is a bit shortet than the others but I had no free time today at all, sorry. I hope you enjoy it, and pls tell me whatever your opinion is! I want to improve. _

_Also, thank you very much to **Oleandra, **I had not noticed that I was writing dialogs in the Spanish convention, I have changed the ones from previous chapters, thank you again, and THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS! ^^_

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**I do not own the characters, this is a story based on Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail. **

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"So, according to Sophie, they were at least five, using black cloaks; also, that "draw" that she said that saw on the arm of one of them is quite interesting, it may be the symbol of a dark guild..." Gray said.

They were all there, thinking about what the little girl had just said. Lisanna took Sophie to a near table and got her a slice of pie. Sophie's face lightened up. While she was eating, the rest of adults were trying to get some clues as to where to start searching for the missing boy. For Gajeel that was not the only thing that pushed him into knowing more about those mysterious men. He was gonna make sure to hunt them all down and make them pay.

"We need to hurry, we do not know what they will do with the kid," Lily said.

"Yeah, but we do not have much information, we need to go to that cabin and see if there is any trace or clue which gives us something more. "

"Juvia agrees with Gray-sama, also Levy-chan may have seen something..."

"That's true, we need to act as quickly as possible so Juvia and I will go to check the cabin, you try and see if Levy knows something."

"Ok, be careful, we do not know who they are," Lily said to Gray and Juvia as they made their way out of the guild.

Mira was silent, with a hand under her chin, lost in her thoughts. Gajeel stood up from his stool and, even if he knew that an hour had not passed yet, he went towards the infirmary to see Levy. He did not want to awake her, but he couldn't stand sitting at the counter anymore, knowing that she was still recovering a room away. And, he would never admit it, but he wanted to see her face, see with his own eyes that she was safe.

As Gajeel took a step towards the infirmary, he felt a weak tug on his pants. He looked down and saw the tiny girl grabbing the material with her hands, looking at him with those big green eyes.

"Oi, what do you want, shorty?" Gajeel asked, trying not to be too harsh with the kid.

"C-can... can I go with you? I want... I want to be with Levy," the girl said shyly.

Gajeel pondered it. She could disturb Levy's sleep, but it was hard to say no to those eyes, even for him.

"Alright, but ya need to be quiet, Levy is resting, 'kay?" Sophie just nodded and followed him.

They went inside the white room; Levy's breath could be heard softly resonating into the complete silence. Gajeel sat in a chair at the foot of Levy's bed, while Sophie stood by her side, contemplating the sleeping woman. He observed both women and his mind started to imagine how would it be to have one of his own with Levy, a tiny blue-haired fairy as her mother with big hazel eyes. Then he became aware of what he was doing and stopped at once, he was not worthy of her, not worthy to even imagine a future by her side, he knew it, and thinking about forming a family together was a mixture between self-torture, knowing how impossible it was, and guilt because he didn't deserve her. He huffed and got his eyes away from Levy's face, feeling depressed and angry at once. As he came back from his reverie, he saw Sophie close to his knees, looking at him attentively.

"What?" Gajeel said trying to keep his voice down.

"Your name is Gajeel?" she responded with a whisper.

"Yeah, what do ya want?"

"You are strong and big, will you help me get my brother back?" she was dead serious, something shocking for someone that young.

"Sure thing, midget," she smiled, her eyes closed and her face almost shinning from the instant happiness she felt. Gajeel looked at her intrigued, he had never saw a brat her age being that obedient and behaving so well. He watched her and then he noticed that she was shivering slightly, and, for the first time, he saw that she was barefooted, and that her dress was way too thin to be weather appropriate.

"Come here," he ordered the girl.

She went to him, not even a bit scared of the giant who was Gajeel compared to her. Then he took his coat off and engulfed her with it, he took her in his arms and sat her on his knee, trying to get her warmer and preventing her tiny feet from touching the cold floor.

He knew that if someone were to see the mighty Gajeel with a little child on his leg they will double up with laughter. She cuddled in his arms and stood quiet, both watching Levy's sleeping face.

After quite some time sitting there, Gajeel looked down to see the little girl fast asleep. It was weird seeing something that tiny resting there, without being afraid of him as was the usual thing with kids when he walked through the streets of Magnolia.

"She is cute, isn't it?" said Levy who had just opened her eyes and was looking at him, feeling a warm sensation while observing the pair. She tried to fix the image deep in her mind, knowing that it was such a rare event that most probably she would never see something like that again.

"Don'tcha dare say anything about this outside this room, did ya hear me?" he said gruffly, his cheeks reddening, "how are ya feeling, shrimp?"

"Much better now, thank you for taking care of me," she smiled gently.

"Nah, it was nothin', don't sweat it," Gajeel flashed her one of his signature cocky smiles, "but I must admit that ya scared me back there, shorty," his face turning serious, "you knew the men who attacked you?"

"No... I do not know who they were, but I can tell you that they were there after the kids, I tried to stop them..., I'm glad you made it on time, are they both ok?"

"Well..., shorty, in the cabin... we only found Sophie" Gajeel said in a grave tone, using the little girl's real name.

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_Well, what do you think? I know that the story is developing slowy but I will try to update it as frequently as possible. _

_Thank you for reading!_

_I will try to upload the next chapter tomorrow night! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello everyone! I'm sorry I couldn't update this story sooner, my weekend was busy as hell T^T, I hope you like this chapter, I will try to update the next one as fast as I can. Please, leave me a comment with anything you think or if you see any mistake! THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!_

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**I do not own Fairy Tail, this is just based on the original story of Hiro Mashima.**

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Levy's eyes went wide, tears in the corners. They had taken him...

"Gajeel, we need to rescue him..., please"

"Ya don't need to ask me that nicely, I was gonna do it anyway, shorty"

She didn't say anything else, just smiled at him kindly, tears still in her eyes. Then, to her utmost embarrassment, Levy's stomach growled loudly.

"Someone's hungry, eh?" Gajeel said laughing, "I will bring ya something, what do ya want?"

"N-no, no, I can go by myself, my leg does not hurt anymore, and I don't feel like resting here more than I had already." She pushed her legs to the side of the bed and got up, but as soon as she did, she felt dizzy and stumbled.

"Easy there, shrimp" Gajeel said getting up, Sophie still in his arm, so he helped Levy with his free one, "maybe ya are not hurting but ya wasted a lot of energy while recovering."

"I'm okay, really, it was just because I got up too fast," she replied. Gajeel looked at her not really believing her words, but he knew she was really stubborn when it came to these matters.

Both of them went out of the infirmary, Gajeel with the sleeping girl who had her head on his shoulder. Mira and Lily watched them, Lily smiled proudly, it was a kind of cute image seeing the Iron Dragon carrying the little human. Mira, on the other hand, decided to tease them a bit.

"Hey, Gajeel, I didn't know that you were dad material, but looking at you right now I must admit that it fits you well, you are a lucky girl, Levy," Mira then winked at the bursting red couple.

"Shut'p, ya devil woman, she fell asleep, I couldn't let the shrimp carry her in her condition"

"Sure..." Mira was still smiling at them. "Anyway, I have something to tell you..." her way of looking turning serious, "I think that a few weeks ago I heard some rumours that may be connected to what has happened today."

They sat at the counter and Mira started retelling them what she had heard while serving them food. She told them how there were some rumours about unresolved murders where the victims where orphan children. It was happening all over the region; the cause of the deaths was still unknown, but the bodies usually appeared in an advanced state of decomposition and with signs of torture. There were a few witnesses who declared to have seen men in black cloaks around the areas in which the bodies where found. The Magic Council was investigating the cases but, as the victims where all orphans, nobody was really putting pressure into solving it. The popular theory was that the kids had been used in magical rituals or sacrifices.

Levy was petrified, Mark's fate would be terrible if he was indeed abducted for such purpose. Lily was looking at the little girl who was still asleep, concern in his eyes, and Gajeel clenched his teeth, he couldn't understand how someone could hurt such defenseless creatures. Just then, Sophie awoke.

"LEVY!" she threw herself from Gajeel's to Levy's arms. "Levy, they have Mark, we need to go save him, Levy, you will go for him, right?" Sophie did not waste even a second, she wanted her brother back and all she cared for was that.

"Yes! we are going to save him, don't worry. I'm glad that you are safe."

"I hided, as you told me, I hided very well, like this, see?" in that very moment she disappeared from Levy arms.

"WH-?!" Gajeel was on his feet, astounded about the sudden disappearance. Levy's eyes widened and she moved her hand slowly to a certain point over her knees, touching something tentatively. As quickly as she was gone, Sophie was there again. Everyone looked at her in wonder.

"See? see? I was invisible, so they _not_ see me" the tiny girl giggled.

"Very well done, Sophie, you are a smart girl!" Levy patted her head smiling.

At that moment, Gray and Juvia entered the Guild's door.

"How's it gone? did you find any clue?" Lily asked them.

"Yeah, we went to the cabin, but they left nothing behind to track, then we went to Magnolia and asked around, trying to get some information, some witness, anything. An old woman said that a group of men went to the train station, and the flower shop keeper said that she saw a cart going to the north of Magnolia, a man with a sleeping child on his arms in it. We are not sure if any of those things is related but it may be a good first step in the investigation." Gray told them.

"Juvia thinks that it would be better if we make two groups and investigate each thing at the same time."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea, Lily and I will go to the north and see if I can get any scent of the kid, Juvia and Gray should go to the train station and see if you can follow them, take Wendy with ya, she could be a great help to track'em. Also, ya devil, ya should warn the Council about this, maybe they have useful information." Gajeel organized their next step, it was not common for him to plan so much ahead but he knew that the kid's situation was more dangerous each second that passed.

"I am going with you!" Levy said to Gajeel.

"Not a chance, shorty" He said back.

"Gajeel, I will go with you, I don't care if you agree or not. That boy knows me, I want to be there when we get him back" She was on her feet, hands in her hips, frowning.

"..._hufff_, ok, ya coming, but ya will be careful, troubles follow ya everywhere, dammit." He was not precisely happy with her going, it may turn dangerous and he did not want her getting hurt again, but he knew that arguing was useless.

"I go too!" said a high-pitched voice.

"No way in hell, ya stay here, I will not go to something that can be dangerous with two tiny shrimps, I have more than enough with one," Gajeel said. He couldn't concentrate in a possible battle with two troublesome little humans there.

"Sophie, it is too dangerous, you will be here, ok? Lisanna and Mira will take care of you, don't worry, they are awesome, you will see, and I promise you that we will get your brother back in no time, pinky promise!" Levy said to the girl trying to convince her.  
Sophie only nodded and looked to Lisanna.

"Ok, then let's get moving, we will go pack some supplies, tents and clothes and see you all at the Guild's door in an hour, okay?" said Gray.

Everyone nodded and went to do it, Levy still limping and Gajeel frowning at her. He had no other choice but to help her pack as well.

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_Thank you for reading! Next chapter I will add some Gajevy fluff, I promise! ^^_

_Edit: I have revised all the chapters and corrected a few things that were wrong, sorry D:_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello everyone! I had a very very busy weekend T^T I have my finals coming soon and today I had to submit 3 essays, I'm a bit exhausted... I wanted to finish this chapter on friday but I couldn't, so so so sorry for the wait, I hope you like it, and thank you all for reading! _

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**I do not own Fairy Tail, this is just based on the original story of Hiro Mashima.**

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"Come on, Shorty, just grab whatever" Gajeel was already impatient. It had taken him five minutes to pack his things, mostly because he had everything already packed from his mission, so he just grabbed clean clothes and so did Lily. But waiting in Levy's frame door for more than twenty minutes was getting on his nerves.

"Just a minute, I'm almost finished," at that very moment she appeared, wearing a clean dress and with a big rucksack on her shoulder. "Let's go!"

Gajeel looked at her for a couple of seconds more than needed, that dress worked for her, it was even working for him too.

"Finally, come on," Gajeel got his eyes off her, it was really difficult to concentrate with her wearing that tiny white and pink dress.

In less than five minutes they were at the guild's door, Gray, Juvia and Wendy already there, Mira also waiting for them outside.

"Here," the blonde said, "these are lacrimas for me to contact you, when the Council inform me I will tell you right away. I have only two so one for each group," she passed the lacrimas to Levy and Gray. "Be careful."

"Ok, we will go now, if you find him make sure to say it asap," with that, Gray's group said their goodbyes and went to the train station.

"Wait a minute," Gajeel rushed inside the guild and came back in less than thirty seconds.

"I forgot the money from the last mission, come on, let's go."

They began their journey to the north of the city, walking in silence. Gajeel was sniffing here and there, trying to get some distinctive scent to follow. It took them more than fifteen minutes to notice that they were being followed. Lily stood in front of Levy while Gajeel looked to the path the had been walking and saw a vanishing image. He was confused, how was it possible that they had been followed and he wasn't aware of it? he didn't get any funny scent or any noise to alert of the intruder presence. Then he saw the image again, and his mouth went agape. It was Sophie, she had been invisible while following the group but as he assumed, she overexerted her tiny body, and her powers were not working properly anymore. Her image was flashing, and they could see her frame appearing and disappearing once and again.  
Gajeel shook his head, that girl was even more problematic than Levy.

"What the hell are you doing here, midget?" Gajeel said exasperated while pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Sophie! you shouldn't be here, where is Lisanna? she was supposed to look over you..." Levy went to pick the little girl and looked behind her, trying to see if Lisanna was also there.

"S-Sorry, I want to help, I want to save Mark too..." she was covered in sweat, fatigue taking over her.

"What are we gonna do now? we cannot go back and I'm not sure if it will happen again if we let her in the guild..." Levy was worried, she did not want the baby girl to be involved but going back was a waste of Mark's precious time.

"We have no choice, but ya, ya little demon, ya need to behave, I don't want to hear a word, ya will be obedient and not in a million years will ya get out of my sight, got it?"

The girl nodded shyly. What a headache, Gajeel thought, going to something which could be potentially dangerous with a kid.

"Aghh..., well let's go, Shorty, call the bartender and tell her that the kid's here..."

"Ok" she got out the Lacrima and told her. According to Mira all the guild was frantically looking for the girl. Gajeel rolled his eyes, what a bunch of idiots.

The group continued their journey to the north, Sophie was alternating between Levy's arms and Lily's shoulders. It was not until they reached the path which led to the next city when Gajeel got a weird scent. It was a mixture between the scent from the cabin and a flowery one. They kept following it for a couple of hours, until the sun started to fade from the sky.

"We will have to camp here tonight, it is already late, and we should rest," Lily said to the group. "Levy is tired, Sophie is almost falling asleep, and well, I wouldn't say no to a few hours of sleep."

"Ok, let's find a place a bit further into the forest," Gajeel didn't want to rest just yet, but Lily made a point, they were tired, and it would be stupid to exhaust themselves.

They set the camp in a small glade in the forest. Lily started a fire while Gajeel and Levy set the tents.

"Let's eat something," Levy got out some food and a frying pan.

"Hey, hey, Shorty, stop right there, ya are not cooking, I do not want to die tonight, give me that," Gajeel took the pan from her hands, and giggled when he saw the pout on Levy's face.

"Stupid Gajeel, I was just gonna heat up these cans, anyone can do it..." she complained in a small voice.

"Not taking the risk," he retorted still giggling at her cute angry face.

Levy then noticed that Sophie was dazing off while sitting near the fire.

"Wait a bit more, Sophie, you need to eat something and then we will go to sleep, ok?" she gently caressed her black hair and tug it behind her ear.

"Ok..." the little girl said sounding sleepy.

Gajeel was amazed at how the tiny one behaved herself all day long. During the day, she had talked mostly with Levy and Lily, but the rest of the time she was just silent, she did not complain even once and the only time she had asked for something it was directed to Levy because she needed to pee. The kid was less work than he had anticipated, he even thought for a moment that a child like that was not that bad.

After dinner, Sophie fell asleep sitting between Levy's legs.

"I will do the first watch, Lil, ya all should sleep as much as ya can."

"Ok, wake me up in a few hours for my turn," the exceed yawned and went into their tent.

Levy didn't move, she sat there with a sleeping Sophie lying down onto her.

"Hey, Gajeel, do you think that Mark is okay? I'm a bit scared about what Mira told us..." she didn't look at him in the eye, instead she was just staring at the fire.

"I hope so, we will rescue him, Shorty, but until we find him we cannot do much more," Gajeel answered, looking at the sleeping girl's face. "She is quite something..."

"Yeah, she is a good kid even if she ran away to come with us," Levy caressed her cheek softly. "I hope she is not too cold..." Levy then looked at Gajeel. "Mira told me that you let them money to buy her some clothes," Gajeel cheeks reddened.

"It was nothing, I just thought that this little midget could use some new shoes," he scratched his head and looked away.

"Thank you, Gajeel," Levy smiled at him with a flutter sensation filling her stomach, feeling her cheeks burn, the idea of Gajeel being that thoughtful regarding the wellbeing of Sophie was doing funny things with her emotions. "Next city we visit, we can make a quick stop at some store to buy her at least the minimum to resist this weather."

"Yeah, but for now ya both should sleep, I will watch, so get some rest, Shorty."

"Ok..." she stood and took Sophie in her arms, then she bent a bit and kissed Gajeel on his cheek, "good night, Gajeel." Both of them blushed furiously at the simple gesture, and then Levy dashed into her tent.

Gajeel stood there, dazed while touching with the tip of his fingers the place Levy had just kissed.

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_I had not much time to revise the text, so if you see something which is wrong or something like that, pls let me know in the comments, and again thank you very much for reading! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello everyone! Soooo very sorry for the enormous delay between chapters 5 and 6 but this past month has been a real nightmare. I had all my finals and my final degree's thesis all together and it kind of overwhelmed me a bit. Now I'm finally free, at least until September, and I hope to update this story more frequently. Thank you very much for all your reviews and likes, I really appreciate it, thank you all for reading this! I hope you like this new chapter, it is a bit longer than previous ones to compensate a bit. _

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**I do not own Fairy Tail, this is just based on the original story of Hiro Mashima.**

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The group got up early. Gajeel was a bit tired, it was hard for him to fall asleep while thinking about Levy's kiss. He tried to get it out of his mind, to distract himself with breakfast, but once Levy was up and sat next to him to eat, he blushed again. It was not like him to be like that, but he had wanted her for so long that the tiny gesture was too much to bear.

Once they all got breakfast, they went on their way towards the city. Levy was her cheerful self, at least on the outside, for those who knew her all too well as Lily and Gajeel did, she was clearly worried about Mark, but she did not want to let her worries fall upon others. What Gajeel did not know was that she was also worried about the consequences of her kiss and what it implied about her feelings. She was constantly fighting the urge of telling him the truth, the fear of rejection was stronger than anything else.

"Hey, I can see the city already, guys!" said Levy, delighted to see that they arrived at last. Their best hint about the kidnappers' possible whereabouts was in that city. Levy rushed forward with Sophie in her shoulders, both smiling.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" said the little exceed who was flying a few inches away from Gajeel, looking at his face attentively.

"Tell'er what?" Gajeel looked at Lily confused.

"That you love her, of course, what else could it be?" answered Lily with a smirk in his tiny face.

"Wh- What? I do not- I don't, ye know that I don't l-l-love her, what a-are ye t-talking 'bout?" said a very flustered Gajeel, looking anywhere but at Lily's eyes. Just a few seconds later, he became calm again, too calm in fact, as if his feelings had been washed out all at once. "Ye know that I can't do that, even if I were to love her, I cannot say a thing 'bout it, ye know I don't deserve to be with her... not after what I did to her..." Gajeel looked at Levy, who was giggling just a few steps away while talking with the little girl now in her arms. She was an angel, she was everything to him, and he knew he couldn't be with her, at least not in that sense, and he was plenty happy to be near her as just a friend, trying to protect her from getting hurt ever again, and even in doing that he thought that he was not doing a great job.

"Gajeel... you should forgive yourself as she has already done" the little exceed touched his shoulder in an attempt to show support.

"The things I did in the past... I'm not worthy of her..."

"You should let her decide that, Gajeel"

Both remained silent for a while, Lily seeing how his partner was struggling with his own feelings.

"You okay?" said Levy after they reached the city, "I think that you should eat something, Gajeel, here, I will make you some iron, you look pale", Levy smiled at him and with a quick movement she created iron with her solid script magic.

"Thank ye, Shorty, I was starvin'" He took the word from her hands and started to chew on it.

"Well, where should start looking?" She asked, looking at her companions.

"We will..._crunch-crunch_...find a place to 'tay and ye three are goin' to rest and find some clothes for the little munchkin while I look for the boy", said Gajeel eating the last pieces of iron.

"EEEHHHH? but you cannot go alone, it may be dangerous, I will go with you"

"Shorty, ye all are tired and still recovering, ye will only delay me, I promise ye that I will only sniff around tryin' to find some clue, doncha worry", he gave her one of his smirks and signalled behind her, "that could be a good place to stay, go get a room and I'll be back before dinner", Gajeel then looked at his exceed, "keep an eye on them".

"Sure, be careful Gajeel, we do not know what they are up to", said Lily.

"Yeah, see ya in a while", and with that he took a sniff around and jumped towards a rooftop nearby.

"Well then, let's get started, first the room and then let's grab some food for this little girl", said Lily while changing into his bigger form and getting all of their luggage.

"Sure...", Levy responded while still looking at the spot in which Gajeel disappeared.

"These two...", Lily thought.

# # #

Gajeel had been following a light scent, similar to the one from the cabin and from Sophie, for almost six hours around the city, he couldn't discern the right direction from where it came, it was as if the scent came from everywhere, on top of that a sweet fragrance was mixed with it, similar to the smell of peaches, and it was getting almost impossible for him to separate both scents. Gajeel shook his head, trying to focus, anger and frustration starting to build up within him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and focused on the tiny traces each scent has, and he got something at last, he could sense where it came from, and jumped in that direction immediately.

When he reached the rooftop near where the focus of the scent was, in front of a big and abandoned old house, a chill run down his spine. A cloaked figure was looking right at him from one of the windows from the old house. It was a woman, clear blue eyes, dark hair coming out from the cloak, that were the only features which could be seen from her. Gajeel stood there, watching carefully, trying to see if anyone else was inside the building, he could hear more than a set of steps inside, at least ten more persons were with her. He prepared himself, danger resonating within his head. And then, the cloaked figure took a step forward, even closer to the glass of the window, and lifted her head, a smirk crossing her face while looking directly at Gajeel. It was then when he felt it, a strong smell, the sweet scent like peaches from before was suffocating him, his throat started to burn, and suddenly it was too hot to bear it. Gajeel took a step backwards, staggering, and run back, trying to breath, his head becoming clouded by the second and a burning sensation running through his body. Whatever that woman has done, it has greatly affected him from such a distance, it was dangerous, he needed to rush back to the hotel.

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"Levy, I'm going to go down to the restaurant and bring us some food now that Sophie is asleep", said the little exceed, Levy was looking through the window, a worried expression on her face. "He will be back soon, don't worry too much, he is tough, he will be fine", Levy looked back at him and smiled.

"You are right, he is stronger than most people, thank you Lily", she replied smiling, the shadow of concern still in her eyes. "I think that I'm going to take a shower now that we have little to do", just thinking about the hot water running down her body relaxed her.

"All right, I will be back in no time, lock the door while I am away, I will get the key".

"Ok, don't worry"

Lily smiled back at the blue haired mage and went away through the corridor of the hotel floor. Levy locked the door just as she had promised Lily and went to take her clothes and towel. She looked at Sophie, who was peacefully sleeping on the couch, her new dress and shoes still on, she didn't want them to be taken away, not even to sleep. Levy smiled, thinking about how wonderful a family life could be with kids such as her.

She went inside the bathroom, took all her clothes off and stepped into the shower, but just as she was going to turn it on, she heard a loud thud coming from the room. She hurried and covered herself with the towel, thinking that maybe Sophie had just fallen from the couch, but when she opened the bathroom door, her heart almost stopped at what she found right in front of her, or more likely who.

Gajeel was there, just a few inches away from her, breathing heavily and with his eyes locked on her.

"G-gajeel? have you just c-c-came back? I was about to take a sho-" She was interrupted by a hard push. "Ouch, Gajeel what are you doing?", she looked at him, his eyes seemed clouded, and that was the moment she knew something was off. "G-gajeel, are you alright?", she tried asking him, but he did not answer.

Gajeel took a step in her direction, he grabbed her from her wrists and pinned her down to the white-tiled wall, that was the moment when the towel which was covering Levy's body fell. Levy looked down at the towel and then back up, right into Gajeel eyes, embarrassment taking upon her.

"Gajeel, what are you doing, let me go!", she was flustered, her face burning due to her current situation, totally naked and incapable of escaping from Gajeel's hold.

Gajeel looked at her, his eyes running through her naked body, his breath becoming heavier, but not even a word left his mouth. Levy wetted her lips, feeling her throat suddenly dry. She closed her eyes, she did not know what was happening, what was Gajeel thinking, but she felt that something was not right, she knew that her friend would never do that to her, not even if she wanted him to do so. And then she felt it, his free hand was softly caressing her body, his fingertips running over her ribcage. Her heart was running wild, each beat faster than the one before.

"G-Gajeel... st-stop...", it was hard for her to get anything out of her mouth. She knew that this was not right, but a part of her wanted this with her whole heart.

Gajeel hand went up to her neck, caressing it, and moving painfully slow down her chest. His fingers touching her skin with a delicacy she did not know he was capable of. When his thumb brushed her nipple, a tiny squeak escaped her lips. She was feeling hot and dizzy at the same time. His hand kept running down, caressing her stomach, going over her navel, and down, down to her most intimate zone. Knowing where his hand intended to go, Levy tried once more, and begged him to stop.

"Gajeel, please... stop this, you are not like this, something has happened to you, I do not know what, but something is off, please, this is not you, please Gajeel, stop, let me go...", tears began to run down her face just as his fingers brushed her soft curls.

Levy closed her eyes again and prepared herself, but just before he reached her core, Levy heard a loud growl coming from him and then a warmness began to run over her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Gajeel biting his own arm with all his might, the arm which was holding her wrists, blood running down from the bite and falling over her.

"Levy... run...f-fast...get Lily...", Gajeel whispered, forcing each sound out of his throat.

Levy stood there, her hands now free, paralyzed in front of Gajeel.

"I... I don't know how much... I can... resist...go now!", he almost roared at her, trying his best to restrain his impulses.

Levy took the towel from the floor and rushed out of the bathroom just in time to see an alarmed Lily in the middle of the room, two bags of food still in his paws.

"Levy, I can smell blood, what the hell has happened?!"

"Lily! Lily, you need to help Gajeel, please!"

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_I have revised the text, but if you see something off, please let me know, and again thank you very much for reading! Comment with anything you like, all opinions are welcome. _


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